Monstrous
by EmoTheFerret
Summary: We finally look into Kate's past, why she is the way she is, and how she started out her first few weeks in the park. And what lies underneath her mortal skin...
1. Chapter 1

Sigh.

She guessed this was it. This creepy Victorian house would be her home indefinitely.

The wind blew the jacket that normally hung at her knees flowing beside her. She'd have to remember to get the zipper fixed on it.

A gust of wind nearly blew the bangs in front of her right eye aside, she held it in place on instinct. She never liked it exposed, though not a soul was in sight.

Strange, this was a normally busy street. Not that she minded. She hated most other people.

Stepping up to the porch, she rang the bell and waited. There was an orange and white cat sitting on the edge. Making sure no one was watching, she pushed it off with her foot. To her disappointment, the cat landed on it's feet. Stupid cat.

A brown-haired man opened the door. " Come in, come in, I have the papers in the parlor. "

The yeti girl stepped into the hallway and followed the man through some rooms into a dark room with old furniture and a few new couches.

" Don't mind the new furniture," he said. " We're going to take that with us next week."

She nodded.

The man held out his hand for her to shake. " My name is John Mckinfarhlenly Peterson. "

The woman barely touched his hand. " Mine is Kate Marylin Ash. " Her voice was low and emo. " It's nice to meet you.. John. " She let go of his hand.

" Please, I prefer people calling me by my full name. "

" Okay, then. "

" Now, what's my name ? "

Kate thought for a moment. " It's… John Mckinley Peterson ? "

" Well, if you insist on being so rude as to not address me properly, just call me John. "

" Fine. "

He narrowed his eyes at her, then handed the paper over. Strange, it looked like an ancient piece of paper, maybe centuries old. " Now, sign at the bottom of the sheet and you may live here. "

The sheet had a ton of little squiggles over to the side of it. " What's this ? "

" Oh, ah… " He adjusted the collar on his vest. " Just some marks on the paper. "

" Then why do they look so much like words ? "

" A coincidence, I guess. "

" It's funny… I have a feeling, that, if I sign this, something bad wil happen. "

" What makes you think that ? " " Like I said, just a feeling. "

He leaned forward anxiously. " Sign it. "

" What are you holding from me ? You're not behaving like you're speaking the truth, " she pressed.

' N-nothing. "

" So, what would happen if I held a magnifying glass to it ? "

Silence.

She took a magnifying glass off the coffee table and held it up against the paper. There were words on it… except they were in a different language.

" What is this ? " she demanded.

" Just decoration. "

" Why didn't you tell me this before ? "

" You ask so many questions. "

" Then I'm not signing this. "

He lunged forward and grabbed her hand. Then, he took an antique pen and forced it in between her fingers.

On instinct, she twisted her wrist around, snapping his own. A few tears rolled out of John's eyes, but he grabbed with his other hand and slowly forced her to write her signature onto the paper. Once he did, the paper glowed with a purple and red hue, folded itself, and floated into John's pocket. He finally let go of Kate's hand.

" What just happened ? " she flatly asked.

John put his hand on his hips and gave a short, high laugh. " You must now live in this house for the rest of your life ! "

" … "

" Not only that, but you must follow every single rule that I have written in Latin on the side of your contract ! "

" Maybe I'll just leave anyway. "

" Oh ! But if you do, " His voice warped into a demonic-sounding screech. " You will die ! "

Kate glared at him.

A man with his shirt tucked into his pants with suspenders walked down the steps. " Excuse me, but are we leaving now ? "

" Who is that ? "

" Oh, why that's my b-" John coughed. " That's my brother. "

The man picked up a suitcase. " Can you hurry along ? This case is rather heavy… "

" I thought you were only here with your wife and two children, " Kate said.

The other man chuckled nervously.

" But I'm just, here to… help him move. "

John nodded. " My wife and children are already in their new home. "

" Whatever you say. "

John looked at her jacket. " Take it off. "

" What for ? "

It's one of the rules we have in this household. "

" Now take it off," the other man said.

Kate slid it off her shoulders and put it on the couch.

" On the coat rack ! " John spit.

She threw it on the coat rack. " There ! "

John seemed satisfied. " Well, Frederick, let's get a move on. "

They walked down the hall, and Frederick opened the door for John before exiting as well.

Kate walked over to the blinds and watched them until they left. Then she sat on the new couch.

" Ah, ah, ah ! " chided a voice from under floorboards.

Her gaze darted around. " Who's there ? "

A puff of purple smoke appeared in front of her, and there stood a little man about two feet tall. "No sitting on the couch ! "

" The heck are you ?

He stroked his short little beard. " Ehm, I'm in charge of the house while John and Fredrick are away. "

Why can't I sit on the couch ? "

" They don't want tenants dirtying up their furniture. "

" Are you saying I'm dirty ? "

The little man held a finger to his chin. " Maayybe. "

Kate just ignored this and took her jacket back off the rack. " I'm going to my job. "

" Not before you wipe off the couch cushion with a paper towel. "

" No. "

" The paper towels are in the cupboard to the left in the kitchen. "

" I'm not wiping it off. "

" But you must ! "

" I'm not-"

" IMMEDIATELY ! " he screeched.

" … " She didn't move a muscle.

He took out a remote controller and pressed the big red button. A jolt of electricity ran up Kate's arm and sent a sharp pain through her entire body.

" Now, how about getting those paper towels ? "

" F-f… fine… " she said in pain as electricity continued to torment her.

He pressed the button again, and she collapsed onto her knees." How did you do that ? " she asked in a surprisingly unfazed tone." " Seems like John slipped a little something onto you're hand during the handshake, " he chuckled.

After cleaning up the ' mess ' on the couch cushion, she stepped out the door and out of the yard. Lookin back, she could see the gremlin staring out through the curtains.


	2. Monstrous Chapter 2

" So, how'd it go ? "  
" It sucked. "  
" Well, I think you might be getting a little over dramatic. "  
Kate sat with her boyfriend Drew at one of the park benches. I t was a crappy day, with the gray clouds looming over and everything.  
" The guy forced me to sign a contract, and now I have to stay there till I die. I don't think I'm being over dramatic. "  
" Hey, what about that little dwarf guy ? What's his name ? "  
" I don't know, but does it really matter what the little crap's name is ? "  
" Just wondering. " He took a sip from his latte. " Now, was John all alone, or.. ? "  
" No, he was there with his ' brother ' Frederick. "  
" Why sarcastic about the word ' brother ' ? "  
" Because that's what he said, and I really doubt that's true. "  
" Heh. " Drew noticed that one of the park workers was looking at them in a weird way. " Uh, don't look now, but who's that ? "  
Kate looked out of the corner of her eye and saw him too. " That's Skips. "  
" He's looking at us weird. "  
She looked back at Drew. "Why ? "  
" Heh, maybe he's just jealous. "  
" Of what ? "  
He scooched over till he was up against her, and wrapped his arm around her waist. " A better question would be, ' Of who ? 'A tiny smile formed across her face. Drew leaned over and pressed his lips to hers, slowly sucking. As he did this, he quickly gave Skips a taunting glance. He knew.  
Skips angrily glared back and skipped off.  
Seeing that he was gone, he stopped kissing her.  
Kate gazed into his black eyes. " Why'd you stop ? "  
I'd like to talk to you some more. " He stroked her hair with his long, pale fingers.  
" What would you like to talk about ? "  
" Oh, well... what about your job ? "  
" It's okay, I guess. It's definitely better than my old job. "  
" That place didn't seem that bad to me. "  
" If hell had restaurants, that would be it. "  
He leaned back against the bench. " Whatever you say. "  
" At least the co-workers aren't so bad here. "  
" I'm guessing you've talked to them. "  
" Actually, I've never talked to them. And that's why I'm okay with them, they don't go bugging me or trying to have a conversation with me. "  
Drew chuckled. " Still being your anti-social self. "  
Kate punched him lightly in the arm. " I told you to stop calling me that. "  
" I'll stop calling you anti-social when you go out and actually talk to your co-workers. "  
" Maybe. "  
Drew sighed. " Good enough. "  
Kate started to get up. " I should probably go and finish my work. "  
Drew looked surprised. " Was I keeping you ? "  
" No, no you weren't.  
He stood up too. " I just remembered... I should probably go do my errands and stuff... " He gave her a quick wink before walking away.  
Kate wished he wouldn't leave so suddenly.

Something's not right. Skips couldn't brush off the thought.  
Something about Kate gave him the feeling of something that was inhuman. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that she wasn't completely mortal. Like... a monstrous being. Not that she was a monster though. But she was definitely hiding something.  
He realized something else. She reminded him of... her. He pushed that thought aside immediately. No one could replace her.  
" Do you know where Benson is ? " Behind him was standing Kate.  
" What ? "  
" Benson. Know where he is ? " Her voice, with its emo tone, seemed to cut through him. " He's... I dunno exactly where he is, just that he's driving somewhere in his cart. "  
" Oh. "  
" So, uh... do you like it here ? "  
" I guess. " As she brushed her bangs away a little, her ash-gray jacket sleeve fell back some. The arm underneath was bruised in the shape of a hand print. Like someone grabbed her.  
" What happened there ? "  
" I bumped it into something, " she said unconvincingly.  
He shrugged. " Whatever you say. "  
Kate was surprised he was so quick to believe that crap. Seriously, ' Bumped it against something ' ?  
" I should be going. " She wanted to leave. " I have to get the rest of my work done and everything, " she added. Then she walked off without another word.  
Skips watched her until she was out of sight. Yes... there was something about her.

Kate walked on, hand's in her pockets. A frisbee whizzed right past her face, but she had no reaction to it. She was too busy looking down, thinking about what she had escaped from a long time ago. But she had a feeling that it had just begun.  
" Hey you, " a snake-like voice whispered.  
Kate just ignored it. Maybe he was talking to someone else.  
" Oh Katylin... "  
She stopped right in her tracks. No one ever called her that. Except... She turned towards the voice.  
A man in a charcoal colored cloak stood in the bushes next to the path she was traveling on. His hood cast a shadow over his eyes, which occasionally glinted.  
" Come forth. I have a message. "  
" From who ? "  
" My master. "  
" Be specific. You know what I meant his name. "  
He grunted. " I can't tell you. "  
" ... " She adjusted her jacket. " Is there a reason ? "  
" Eh, I'll tell you that soon enough. " He coughed, making a sound like his throat was backed up with a random gross substance. " My message. "  
" Yeah ? "  
" We have found you. I myself have. You can't run from who you are, especially what you have done. "  
Kate clenched her fists. " Who gave you that message ?! "  
He stepped back. " I must not reveal that. "  
She stepped towards him, matching the distance. " Tell me, " she demanded in a grim tone.  
" P-please ! I'm only the messenger ! " he whimpered.  
She grabbed his hood and threw it back, and her suspicions were correct. His eyes were serpentine, green and glowing, with the pupils being black narrow darts.  
She gasped. " You're... you're one of them. "  
The messenger hissed and with inhuman speed, slashed her arm with sharp claws. Blood trickle down from her fur and a red splotch spread over her torn jacket sleeve. Kate took one glance at her wound, then gave a hard kick to the man's abdomen. His red hair flew in front of his face as he was launched into the ground by the sheer force of her kick.  
Kate looked down at her boot, disgust spreading on her face. " You got blood all over my good boots... "  
" Go to hell... " he moaned.  
" Well, I happen not to enjoy where I grew up. "  
" You grew up in a normal house... "  
" It was the closest thing to hell. "  
" I'll bring you there.. " The man got up to one knee and opened his fingers to slash at her again. Another blow to his face knocked him back into the mud. All movement from him had ceased.  
She stuffed the body in the bushes. " He was evil anyways, " she reasoned.  
It would take a while for somebody to come across the body, since this path was hardly used. Why else would she walk here ? But, wait, after a few days the body's odor would become noticed and one of the park workers might have to clean it up... she'd have to get rid of it.  
She spread apart the leaves, expecting his battered body to still be there. Just an indentation where it was just laying. Sighing, she figured he wasn't dead after all and hauled himself off to some other place. But she wouldn't have to worry about him calling the cops on her and having her arrested. His kind didn't prefer to interact with humans.  
She uttered a curse as she wiped the cold blood into the grass under the bush. She couldn't remove it completely, she'd have to wash it off when she got home. Unless there was a rule about that.  
A low purring sound crept up behind her, when she turned towards the sound she saw that it was the sound of the cart stopping next to her.  
" Kate, I have some work for you to do at the house, " Benson said. " Hop in. "  
Kate climbed onto the passenger's seat as Benson started the cart back up.  
" What were you just doing here, anyways ? " Benson asked her.  
" Looking for you, " she half-lied.  
" Oh, okay then, " he replied, and drove off towards


End file.
